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Chris Fowler is a real OG when it comes to talking about college football, as the longtime ESPN analyst has either been a studio host or commentator on the sport since 1989, and has been part of some of the biggest matchups and upsets in the longstanding tradition each fall. So to suggest Fowler knows a little bit would be an understatement, as the guy is tuned-in more than the casual observer.
Considering the college football season is set to kick-off in a mere 20 Saturdays — yeah, seriously — Chris Fowler figured it’d be a good time to remind everyone how far we have to go until it’s really safe for things to start. Given the severity and uncertainty of the ongoing pandemic we’re facing, it should come as no surprise that many have wondered how it will impact the college football season; and if it even starts at all. And with a recent poll suggesting over 70 percent of sports fans wouldn’t feel comfortable being in a stadium rooting on their favorite team until there’s a vaccine for the virus, the idea that the sport could return on time is starting to feel like a pipe dream.
That’s why Chris Fowler took to Instagram to give his thoughts on what he sees as three scenarios for a college football return. The first two seem overly optimistic — with the first being that everything runs as planned, and the second one being a late start and reshuffling of some games and the College Football Playoff. But the third scenario paints a much more realistic (and grim) suggestion, with Fowler saying that the possibility of a 2020 college football season being played from February to May (2021) is “gaining momentum.” Take a look below at what Fowler had to say.
Per AL.com:
“The first scenario is the season starts on time and the season isn’t altered much,” Fowler said. “Time is running out, though, unless you think 4-6 weeks is a whole lot of time. Because I’m told by the end of May, there has to be clarity and if you are going to have college campuses open, which you will have to bring the players back, that’s about the deadline to get things going on time.”
“Scenario 2, the season starts late and maybe gets shortened a bit,” Fowler said. “Maybe you get going in November and you go through January and have to reshuffle the Playoff. To me, that sounds problematic. People are worried about a second wave of this virus coming back when the temperatures up north turn colder. You want to start a season then have to shut it down? To me, that would be disastrous.”
“There is a third scenario that’s gaining momentum, which may sound preposterous on the surface but I think a lot of reasonable people feel like it might be the most prudent course of action, and that is football in the spring,” Fowler added. “Beginning some point in February, getting into March, April, May, maybe have the postseason in June. That would have to be reshuffled a bit, it would be bizarre, it would wreak havoc on some other sports in that time of year, but to avoid the financial disaster of having no football in the academic year, I think it might be a fallback position.”
Welp, if that final prediction holds true — and Chris Fowler’s truly reporting what’s actually being discussed by the NCAA — then it’s going to be one helluva boring fall, isn’t it? It’s one thing to imagine the next few months without live sports like the NBA or MLB, but, damn, it’s insane to think about 7.5 more months without any live events. Those short, gloomy, gray, cold November and December weekend days sure will be depressing AF.
Fowler’s suggestion sort of echoes the tune of his ESPN colleague Kirk Herbstreit, who previously suggested that he’d be “shocked” if either the NFL or college football is played this fall. In other words, it’s not looking good, so it might be time to find a hobby that’ll occupy your time — because we’re going to bored out of our minds without sports.